otori

Not to be left out, NMFT will be hitting up Montreal and Vancouver this June, before heading back to Tokyo. I don’t see the official event up yet for Montreal (will post as soon as I do), but below is the info for Vancouver at The Biltmore Cabaret.

So, looks like no stop at The Rivoli this year, but that may not be a bad thing. First stop of the tour will be launching from Soybomb, a place far better described by Steve himself, than my words could try imitate. Details below. We’ll let you know as soon as ticket sales open!

A DIY underground tour needs a DIY underground venue. And if you’ve never heard of Soybomb it’s because the people who run it and the locals that frequent it don’t need outsiders ruining a good thing.

I’ve brought over a lot of great underground bands from Japan like 百蚊 (hyacca), NATSUMEN, Praha Depart that were slept on by the very people in Toronto who would have enjoyed them the most. So instead of trying to make them come to us I’m invading their f*cking territory.

On June 12, 2015 Next Music from Tokyo vol 7 kicks off it’s Canadian tour at Soybomb. It’s basically a 2nd floor loft with an indoor mini halfpipe converted into a secret hangout for noise/punk/hardcore shows. The vibe at these shows is like hosting a bunch of your favorite bands to play in your living room. The bands perform on the flat of the halfpipe at eye-to-eye level with the audience so sightlines are piss poor unless the band’s immediately in front of you or you’re sitting atop the ends of the ramp. The room is crusty, anarchic and smells like an armpit. There are bikes hanging upside down from the ceiling and if you touch them you’ll get your ass kicked. Sound sketchy? Well that’s the whole beauty of it. Soybomb will initially take you out of your comfort zone but as long as you don’t act like a dick the people are nice and the atmosphere is unbeatable for watching shows.

Now I wouldn’t host a show at Soybomb unless I had the bands to suit it.

otori were made to perform at Soybomb.

otori play a furious blend of noise/HC, no-wave and krautrock with passionately screamed female vocals. The music takes the repetitive drive of Krautrock flashing in alien-like guitar toneswith complex drumlines and the anything goes, experimental nature of no-wave and spruces it up further with the larger than life,demonic intensity of Kobara Sae’s growled vocals and sinister stage presence.

PENs+ play mathy, emo-HC with pop sensibility and insane guitar wizardry. Think Algernon Cadwallader but faster and with much stronger musical chops.

OWARIKARA play loud, fast and soulful psychedelic rock and have more stage presence than 99.9% of bands on the planet.

mothercoat are a band that are too weird even for Japan. If the members of Radiohead were born in Tokyo and were even more progressive with a stranger sense of humor then you’d end up with mothercoat. Oh and the drummer is absolutely phenomenal. Watching him alone is worth the price of admission.

If Soybomb sounds too scary for you then we have another show with the same awesome bands the following night at Lee’s Palace. We sold out Lee’s Palace last year and it was one of the best shows in the history of NMFT but the intimate and chaotic nature of Soybomb may allow us to even one-up that historic night.

So if you’re feeling adventurous come enjoy a sweaty, turbulent night of music and general mayhem at the infamous Soybomb on Friday June 12, 2015.

When I first started this Japanese music showcase in 2010, Owarikara and mothercoat immediately came to mind as two of the best live acts in all of Japan that I needed to invite for the tour. They blew minds across Canada during NMFT vol.1 and five years later they’re better than ever.

Joining mothercoat and Owarikara are PENs+ and otori. I chose otori b/c some fans complained that NMFT was getting a little ‘soft’ by leaning towards ‘accessible’ bands like Kinoko Teikoku, chi-na, Uchu Conbini etc. Personally, I think music can be powerful and intense without being noisy or having tons of guitar distortion and Kinoko Teikoku, chi-na, UC and all the bands I’ve chosen are powerful in their own way.

Anyhow, otori’s music is noisy, ferocious and smart. Loud enough to please the noise/HC crowd but creative and intelligent enough to please music enthusiasts of all kinds. Female vocalist Kobara Sae is adorably cute off-stage but an absolute demon when she grabs the mic.

PENs+ play mathy, emo-HC with nasty guitar wizardry and lots of pop sensibility. They were chosen to play a large festival as one the best high-school bands in Japan in 2012. Now in university they keep honing their skills by playing more and more shows and are at the forefront in shaping Tokyo’s ‘next music.’

All of the bands have music that you can listen to for free on Spotify. BUT I chose these bands for how much they kick ass live and their studio recordings don’t do their live performances justice.

Lee’s Palace last year was one of my favorite shows ever and we managed to sell the place out.

NMFT 007 will be just as awesome, if not better so make sure you don’t miss out!